A sign outside the Tri-Insitutional M.D. - Ph.D. Program's office door announces its perfect score of 10 in the Medical Scientist Training Program grant renewal.
The Tri-Institutional M.D.- Ph.D. Program on York Avenue is a perfect 10.
So says the National Institutes of Health, which, in review of the Medical Scientist Training Program grant that heavily supports the joint program between Weill Cornell Medical College, The Rockefeller University and the Sloan-Kettering Institute for Cancer Research, gave the application a perfect score.
The Medical Scientist Training Program, administered by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, encourages and supports the training of students who are pursuing the combined M.D.-Ph.D. degree and plan to undertake careers in biomedical research and academic medicine. The training program provides stipends, tuition allowance and other funds to students at institutions awarded with a grant.
Tri-Institutional program — and its predecessor programs — have received this grant for nearly 40 years. More than 500 students apply each year for an average 14 slots, which are fully-funded from start to finish — in part by the training program.
Last month, the National Institute of General Medical Sciences scored the Tri-Institutional program's grant renewal application a 10 out of a possible 90 — (with 10 being best; a perfect score). Medical Scientist Training Program officials said such a score is very rare.
"I am very pleased," said Dr. Olaf Andersen, professor of physiology and biophysics at Weill Cornell and the principle investigator on the Tri-Institutional grant. "But the credit goes to all three participating institutions that jointly provide the training — as well as our past and current students. Everything has to work right, and be perceived to work right, in order to receive a score of 10."
The grant is for five years, and it takes about a year to prepare the application, Dr. Andersen said. The most important information on the application is about the Tri-Institutional program's graduates' careers, whether they pursue careers as physician-scientists.
"I know that the Tri-Institutional M.D. - Ph.D. Program is a strong, well organized program," Dr. Andersen added. "It is gratifying to learn that others share that opinion."
The Tri-Institutional program joins Weill Cornell, The Rockefeller University and the Sloan-Kettering Institute. The Program awards medical degrees from Weill Cornell and doctorate degrees from the Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences, The Rockefeller University or the Gerstner Sloan-Kettering Graduate School. Since its inception in 1972, more than 300 graduates have been prepared to tackle the urgent medical research needs of society.